Because You're You (Orange Pekoe, Girls und Panzer)

True Feelings

"W-Well y-you're m-my b-best f-friend and... w-well I..."

Alex let out a small sniffle and wiped his eyes, "What?..."

"I..."

He let out another small sniffle and a worried expression formed on his face as he saw how anxious Pekoe looked.

"What is it Pekoe~" He asked with a small smile, tears still coming out of his eyes.

Pekoe's lip began to quiver and she closed her eyes, even after everything that had happened to him he was still being as nice as possible to her...

Pekoe lurched forward and gripped him tightly in a hug.

"P-Pekoe?!"

"Alex y-you mean so m-much to me a-and... y-you're so nice to me... I-I really... I... I love you!"

Alex let out a gasp at Pekoe's words, taking in fast small breaths.

"Pekoe..." he muttered softly, as she stepped away from him. Looking up into his eyes with an expectant expression...

Alex didn't say anything though, his mind was still swirling with thoughts and he had no idea what to do...

"I-I s-see..." Pekoe muttered to herself, assuming that he didn't have those feelings for her.Not being stopped by Alex who stood in the same spot, motionless...

(Pekoe in head) "Maybe he'll run after me and grab my hand, while confessing his love. That would be nice..." Pekoe thought to herself as tears began to run down her face...

---Timeskip: Pekoe POV---

After trudging through the schools corridors, Pekoe managed to find Darjeeling, Rosehip and Assam.

"Pekoe~" Rosehip greeted with a smile, which quickly turned to a frown as she saw Pekoe's dejected expression.

"What happened?" Assam asked.

Pekoe let out a long breath and muttered "It's complicated..."

"Then let us help you~" Darjeeling said with a smile as she wiped away some of Pekoe's tears and sat her down on a nearby seat.

"W-Well... I saw Vanilla cheating on Alex with another guy, and say mean things about him..."

"That bitch! Not only did she steal him away from you, but she didn't even treat him right!" Rosehip said, incensed.

"Anyway, I confronted Vanilla and as I was leaving Alex came by..."

"Oh..." Darjeeling muttered as she rubbed Pekoe's back, seeing that she was getting upset.

"T-Then h-he said he was through w-with Vanilla a-and we l-left..."

"Well that's certainly an improvement to your situation I would think~" Assam said softly.

"W-Well it i-is b-but I... W-Well..."

"What is it Pekoe~" Darjeeling asked as she looked worriedly at her, noticing that she looked even more anxious than she did when she first arrived.

"I told him t-that I l-love him..."

"Y-You did?!" Rosehip asked with a surprised expression.

Pekoe nodded, and continued, "But he didn't say anything back... He just stood there..."

"So that's why your upset..." Darjeeling stated.

"Yeah..."

All of the girls now shared Pekoe's downcast expression, until a confused expression formed on Rosehip's face.

"Wait a minute... You told him you loved him just after he broke up with Vanilla?..."

"W-Well y-yes, w-why?"

"I think I know why he didn't reply Pekoe..." Rosehip added, stopping to look over at Assam who nodded to her with a smile.

"Y-You do?!"

"Of course, he just broke up with someone he obviously had feelings for. So his mind was filled with confusion and sadness, he probably just didn't know how to process your confession..."

"B-But-" Pekoe started, before a sigh by Darjeeling cut her off.

"She's right Pekoe... I think you'll find once some time has passed you'll get a better reaction from him..."

"B-But w-what if he doesn't have f-feelings for me?..."

Darjeeling opened her mouth to respond with a quote, before she was cut off by a familiar voice...

"I wouldn't worry too much about that~" Alex said with a faint smile as Pekoe and the other girls turned in shock to see Alex standing right next to them.

"H-How long have you been there?!" Assam asked.

"Long enough..." He replied with a small nod.

"A-Alex..." Pekoe muttered under her breath.

"Pekoe, I'm so sorry..."

"N-No!" Pekoe responded as she got out of the seat and hugged him tightly "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have expected you to reply properly that soon after you broke up with Vanilla!"

"Pekoe..."

"I wish I could go back and help you get over your pain properly!"

"Pekoe..."

"I wish I'd waited and been a better friend I-" Pekoe started frantically before being cut off.

"Pekoe!" Alex said in an elevated tone, pulling her closer to him so that his head was just above her's.

"I love you too~" He whispered into her ear, causing her to blush wildly.

"A-Ah..." She muttered, gripping at the back of his shirt as she processed what she'd just heard.

Upon seeing Pekoe's reaction, Darjeeling, Assam and Rosehip had guessed what Alex had whispered to Pekoe and were smiling at each other widely.

"R-Really?..."

"Really~"

"I'm s-so h-happy right now Alex~"

"So am I Pekoe~ I'm just sorry it took me this long to notice that the perfect girl for me was right there the whole time~"